Hi Guys - well I guess you'll be pleased to hear that this will be the last posting on this particular phase of the launch - what's that ? was that a
I heard coming over the horizon
Today, after a slightly leaky start which required removal of some fittings to improve the seal the whole thing was given another hydraulic test to 1-1/2 times WP to check all fittings. It sat at 90 psi for half an hour or so with only a slight creep back due to a very slight weep on the gauge glass drain cock. The leaky fittings had previously had the copper washers replaced with fibre ones thinned to get the correct orientation and refitted using Rocol pipe sealant. The Riebach(?) white faced gauge glass, unfortunately the only piece available, cracked during removal so was replaced with plain but in fact this fitted the silicone seals better which is probably (seals too tight) what had caused it to crack in the first place
Already set up on the temporary base it was time to get it fired up. It was quite windy today so rather than do it outside it was kept close to the door for ventilation.
The water was drained from the full test level to around three quarter full - the water BTW was at ambient temperature straight from the rain butt, filtered but not pre-heated.....
......and finally the burner was lit and the timer set to check how long it would take to raise steam from cold. The heat coming from the chimney was minimal - at 8-9" above hardly any heat at all could be felt and about 2-1/2" above just at the point of being too hot for a hand to remain there for long. I took it from this then that most of the heat was being absorbed by those water tubes as hoped for.
The burner performed well, and with a good, vaguely orange flame which could be observed reasonably well through those secondary air holes. At one point, about 5-10 mins in, it began to 'yowl', not particularly noisy but with a potential to be irritating but within a few more minutes that had disappeared completely and it until ran the gas ran out without reoccurring.
At about 25mins the safety valve began to issue a faint whiff of steam but it did not 'blow' until 33 mins had elapsed. I took this pic to record the time but the steam though issuing quite freely has not been captured.
With the boiler up to pressure the burner was backed off and the main valve opened and the old Double Ten got it's first taste of steam for some forty years
Opening that plug cock a bit too quickly it roared into life on 60 psi but, once throttled back, it turned over steadily enough at a fast pace for the next 20 mins or so (I'd stopped the clock after the SV popped
before the gas ran out.
I don't have any parameters to go by so would welcome any thoughts on how long it should take to raise steam from cold. We have dedicated kettles for pre boiling water at the club but with just on 2-1/2 litres of water to boil and fill through a funnel thoughts are running more to a secondary, external, gas tank to get the water up to temperature then switching to the on board gas tank to get a much longer run.
Well guys, that really is the end of the road of this phase - it's taken a bit longer than I thought so my thanks to all those who've stayed the course and helped with advice, input or just being there.
To that I must add a truly
special thanks to Sandy whose personal help on this from the start would really have to be received to be appreciated - Sandy I am forever indebted for your knowledge and expertise, your input and advice that you have given, so freely, throughout this rebuild.
It's time for a break - as mentioned previously I need to catch up on some outstanding non ME stuff but I hope to be back on the Atomatics in a few weeks time in order to make some progress on them before getting back onto the launch around the end of October.
Oh yes - just in case you've forgotten what it looked like I simply couldn't resist doing this
Those who've seen it tell me "its a big boiler" but it gets a bit lost in there as yet.
Hope you've enjoyed this as much as I have sharing it
Regards for now - Ramon